System and method for providing videoconferencing services

ABSTRACT

A broadband system includes a broadband switch network, a broadband session controller, and a broadband service control point. The broadband network provides connections between information sender/receivers in response to instructions from a broadband service control point or in response to requests originated by an information sender/receiver. The broadband service control point provides processing instructions and/or data to the broadband controller and information sender/receiver. Applications supported by the broadband network include video-on-demand and videoconferencing services for system users. For video-on-demand, a settop controller is associated with a video display of each system user. One or more video information providers (&#34;VIPs&#34;) stores video information to be sent to the user&#39;s settop controller via the broadband switch network. The broadband session controller communicates with the user&#39;s settop controller and VIPs and requests processing information from the broadband service control point in response to predetermined triggers. The broadband session controller instructs the broadband switch network to establish the broadband connection between the VIP and a predetermined settop controller. For settop controller-based videoconferencing, the settop controller controls cameras, microphones, video displays, and speakers. In addition, an integrated service control point integrates broadband and telephone networks to provide efficient and effective integrated broadband and telephone services. Both broadband and telephone services can be provisioned via a video interface at a user&#39;s remote location. Also, the integrated network provides unique caller identification delivery services.

This application is a continuation of Ser. No. 08/431,989 filed May 1,1995 now abandoned.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.08/432,580; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/432,586; now U.S. Pat.No. 5,583,427, Dec. 10, 1996; U.S. patent application Ser. No.08/432,581, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,574,778, Nov. 12, 1996; U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 08/432,582, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,574,779 Nov. 12,1996; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/432,578, now U.S. Pat. No.5,696,815 Dec. 9, 1997, filed on even date herewith, the contents ofwhich are incorporated by reference.

This application is also related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.07/934,240, entitled "System and Method for Creating, Transferring, andMonitoring Services in a Telecommunication System," filed Aug. 25, 1992,by Zaher A. Nazif et al. now abandoned; U.S. patent application Ser. No.07/972,529, entitled "System and Method for Creating, Transferring, andMonitoring Services in a Telecommunication System," filed Nov. 6, 1992by Zaher A. Nazif et al. now abandoned; and U.S. patent application Ser.No. 07/972,817, entitled "A Method of Creating a TelecommunicationService Specification," filed Nov. 6, 1992, by Susan K. K. Man et al.,now U.S. Pat. No. 5,450,480, Sep. 12, 1996 The contents of theseapplications are also incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to telecommunication networksand services and more specifically to broadband networks and services.

By comparison to today's mature telephony networks, nationwide broadbandnetworks are in their early infancy phase. In this application, the termbroadband includes video information (both moving and still images) aswell as conventional voice and alphanumeric data. Over the past fewyears, the industry has spent considerable effort to develop broadbandaccess, switching, and transmission technology. However, little efforthas been devoted to integrating and controlling broadband networks. As aresult, there is no commonly accepted architecture for the control ofbroadband networks. In addition, there are very few standards orindustry requirements defining control functions, interfaces, andprotocols for broadband networks.

While certain vendors, e.g. AT&T and Fujitsu, may offer end-to-endsolutions with control capacities integrated into broadband access andswitching products, these approaches are proprietary and, whenconsidered for large scale deployment, are characterized by the samedrawbacks and challenges which were attributed to switch based telephonyservices over 20 years ago, i.e., service implementation, deployment anduniformity problems, as well as, limited service customization.

It is therefore desirable to provide a broadband network and servicesthat substantially obviate one or more of the problems due tolimitations and disadvantages of the related art.

It is also desirable to provide a broadband network in which networkoperators can quickly respond to changing market demands to rapidlycreate, test, and deploy new services in the broadband network.

It is further desirable to extend existing service creation and servicecontrol features and functionality to support the creation and executionof broadband services in a broadband network.

It is still further desirable to provide a system and method forgenerating broadband services and for provisioning those broadbandservices in an execution environment quickly and efficiently.

It is desirable to provide efficient and inexpensive systems and methodsfor providing video-on-demand services.

It is also desirable to provide efficient and inexpensive systems andmethods for providing videoconferencing services.

It is also desirable to provide an integrated broadband network andtelephone network.

It is also desirable to provide an integrated broadband/telephonenetwork in which network operators can quickly respond to changingmarket demands to rapidly create, test, and deploy new services.

It is further desirable to provide a system and method for generatingservices in an integrated broadband/telephone network and forprovisioning those services in an execution environment quickly andefficiently.

It is still further desirable to provide efficient and inexpensivesystems and methods for providing caller identification services.

Additional objectives, features and advantages of the invention will beset forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparentfrom the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realizedand attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinationsparticularly pointed out in the written description and appended claimshereof as well as the appended drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with thepurposes of the invention, as embodied and broadly described, theinvention includes a videoconferencing system, comprising a broadbandswitch network, a plurality of video cameras, one video cameracorresponding to each of a plurality of videoconferencing parties, aplurality of controllers, one controller corresponding to each videocamera, a broadband session controller for communicating with each ofsaid controllers, and a broadband service control point connected tosaid broadband session controller.

As embodied and broadly described, the invention also includes in avideoconferencing network including a broadband switch network, aplurality of video cameras, one video camera corresponding to each of aplurality of videoconferencing parties, a plurality of controllers, onecontroller corresponding to each video camera, a broadband sessioncontroller, and a broadband service control point, a method of providingvideoconferencing comprising the steps of requesting at a callingparty's controller, a videoconference with a called party, requestingprocessing instructions from said broadband service control point inresponse to said videoconference request, sending a videoconferencesession request signal to a controller associated with said called partyin response to processing instructions from said broadband servicecontrol point, and establishing a broadband connection between saidcontrollers of said calling party and said called party in response toan accept signal from said called party's controller.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and areintended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of the specification, illustrate presently preferredimplementations of the invention and, together with the generaldescription given above and the detailed description of the preferredimplementations given below, serve to explain the principles of theinvention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1A is a block diagram of a broadband network in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1B is a block diagram of a broadband network for providing videoinformation in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a broadband session controller inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3A is a block diagram of a broadband service control point inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 3B and 3C are examples of a broadband processing record inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a settop controller in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a process flow diagram for a video-on-demand service inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is an example of a level one gateway menu in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is an example of a display menu for requesting a user's PIN inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is an example of a video selection menu for a video informationprovider in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary selection menu provided by a videoinformation provider in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 10 illustrates another exemplary selection menu provided by a videoinformation provider in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a broadband network in accordance with analternative embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 12-14 illustrate alternative system setup and processing flowoperations in accordance with an alternative embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 15 illustrates a display menu for a videoconferencing service inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a processing flow diagram for providing a videoconferencingservice in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 17 is a block diagram of an integrated broadband and telephonenetwork in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 18 is a block diagram of an alternative scheme for connecting aremote location to a telephone network in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of an integrated telephone/broadband servicecontrol point in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 20 illustrates an example of a service provisioning menu inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 21 is an example of a video-on-demand access screening menu inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 22 shows an example of a list of telephone-based services inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 23 is an example of a call history menu in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 24 shows an incoming call information menu displayed on a displayscreen in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 25 is an example of an incoming call information menu in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 26 is a processing flow diagram for providing video-based callerI.D. information in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 27 is a processing flow diagram for providing video-based callerI.D. information in accordance with another embodiment of the presentinvention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the construction and operationof preferred implementations of the present invention which areillustrated in the accompanying drawings. In those drawings, likeelements and operations are designated with the same reference numbers.

The following description of the preferred implementations of thepresent invention is only exemplary of the invention. The presentinvention is not limited to these implementations, but may be realizedby other implementations.

FIG. 1A is a block diagram of a broadband network in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. As shown, the preferred broadbandnetwork includes broadband switch network ("BSN") 100, informationsender/receivers 101, broadband session controller ("BSCP") 104, andbroadband service control point ("BSCP") 106.

BSN 100 preferably includes one or more broadband switches 114 forrouting digital information to and from the information sender/receivers101. Broadband switches 114 may include, for example, asynchronoustransfer mode (ATM) switches or any other conventional digitalinformation switches.

Information sender/receivers 101 preferably send and/or receiveinformation over broadband connections 116 to the BSN 100. Broadbandconnections 116 may include, for example, twisted pairs of copper wires,coaxial cable, fiber optic link, or some hybrid of these.

BSC 104 communicates with information sender/receivers 101, BSCP 100,and broadband switches 114 via data connections, 120, 124, and 126,respectively. These data connections preferably include one of twistedpairs of copper wire, coaxial cable, fiber-optic link, or some hybrid ofthese. Connections 120 are shown as physical connections between BSC 104and information sender/receivers 101, respectively. In an alternativeembodiment, however, these connections 120 are logical connections, withthe physical data paths passing through broadband switches 114 or aseparate public packet data network (not shown).

In accordance with the present invention, information sender/receivers101 may include any type of communications equipment, computer, ornetwork capable of sending and/or receiving control signals, datainformation, and/or broadband information. For example, in accordancewith the present invention, information sender/receivers 101 may includecustomer premise equipment, personal computers, data communication hubs,information servers, video servers, cameras, monitoring equipment,telephones, other networks, etc.

Broadband session controller 104 preferably processes signals from aninformation sender 101 based on instructions provided by the BSCP 106.The interaction of the BSC 104 and BSCP 106 is described in detailbelow. Broadband session controller 104 also instructs switches 114 ofthe BSN 100 on when and how to route information (data and broadband)between information sender/receivers 101. Thus, in accordance with thepresent invention, broadband switches 114 need only limited intelligencesince they preferably get routing instructions from the broadbandsession controller 104.

The processing and functionality of the broadband network of the presentinvention will now be explained in the context of a broadband networkfor providing video services to a user. FIG. 1B is a block diagram of abroadband network for providing video services in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1B, one of theinformation sender/receivers 101 comprises a settop controller 110,preferably at a remote user location. Associated with the settopcontroller 110 is a video display 112, video camera 120, and remotecontrol device 118. The other information sender/receiver 101, in thevideo services embodiment, is replaced with one or more videoinformation providers 102. Also, in a preferred embodiment, thecommunication connection 116 between settop controller 110 and thebroadband switch network 100 may be provided via an access network 108.Access network 108 may comprise the same coaxial cable, fiber opticlink, or some hybrid, as broadband connection 116. Alternatively,however, access network 108 may comprise ADSL technology.

In accordance with the present invention, settop controller 110 respondsto input signals from a remote control device 118. These input signalsinclude information entered by users, such as selections and data, andcontrol the display of information on video display 112. Settopcontroller 110 relays these input signals to either the BSC 104 or VIP102, depending on whether a video session with the VIP 102 has been setup and established.

Broadband session controller 104 preferably processes control signalsfrom settop controller 110 based on instructions provided by the BSCP106. Broadband session controller 104 also instructs switches 114 of theBSN 100 on when and how to route data between VIP 102 and settopcontroller 110 and instructs VIP 102 on when and how to transferbroadband video to settop controller 110.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of the broadband session controller104 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Asshown, the broadband session controller 104 preferably includesprocessor 200, session manager 202, network connection manager 204, oneor more resource adapters 206, one or more signalling agents 208, anddatabase 210.

Session manager 202 provides intelligence to communicate, via signalingadapters 208, with the settop controller 110 and VIP 102. Prior toestablishing a new session, session manager 202 negotiates theattributes of the session with the settop controller 110 and VIP 102.Session manager 202 also interacts with the settop controller 110 andVIP 102 prior to modifying/terminating an existing session. Sessionmanager processing includes a set of predetermined events (referred toas "triggers") which make the session manager 202 suspend currentprocessing and query BSCP 106 for instructions on how to proceed. Thus,session manager 202 responds to "triggers" and input signals from remotecontrol 118 to provide interactive functionality with a user.

Network connection manager 204 receives from the session manager 202requests to allocate/modify/release network resources assigned to aparticular session. Network connection manager 204 translates logicalspecifications of a session transport topology into requests forallocation/deallocation of specific network resources, such as trunks,bridges and switches. For example, the network connection manager 204determines what connections need to be made to connect a predeterminedVIP 102 to the settop controller 110 for a particular user, and sendsinstructions to resource adapters 206 controlling the broadband switches114 to set up those connections.

Resource adapters 206 communicate directly with broadband switches 114and translate instructions from the broadband session controller 104 toinstructions understood by a particular broadband switch 114. Thus, in apreferred embodiment, broadband session controller 104 includes aresource adapter 206 corresponding to each type of broadband switch 114or any other network resource which is controlled by broadband sessioncontroller 104. Resource adapters 206 preferably communicate withbroadband switches 114 via connections 126 (FIG. 1A). Connections 126preferably comprise a broadband link connected to the broadband switch114 fabric and multiplex broadband content with control information.Alternatively, a separate connection, not shown, can be provided forcontrol information.

Signaling adapters 208 screen the session manager 202 from the need toimplement multiple session signalling protocols. Signaling adapters 208translate a session signaling protocol utilized by the settop controller110 and VIP 102 into a generic session signaling protocol utilized bythe session manager 202.

As described, in a preferred embodiment session manager 202 responds totriggers in its processing by seeking information from BSCP 106. Forexample, session manager 202 might respond to "power on" at the settopcontroller 110 by requesting information from the BSCP 106 on how torespond to that "power on" occurrence. The triggering operation of theBSC 104 may be thought of, for purposes of illustration, as analogous totriggering by a telephone switch in response to a call model trigger inan Advanced Intelligent Network ("AIN"). As explained in theincorporated patent applications, in the AIN, telephone switches respondto certain triggers from a caller by requesting call processinginformation from a telephone network SCP running the MSAP applicationand SPACE-based call processing records for each user. In a preferredembodiment, BSC 104 responds to the following triggers to providebroadband functionality.

1. Session Creation Requested. This trigger message notifies the BSCP106 that a broadband network client, e.g. settop controller 110, hasrequested creation of a new broadband session. A network client is,preferably, a software module that acts as an agent of a user andinteracts with the network on the user's behalf. For example, a settopcontroller includes a network client software module which handlesvideo-on-demand applications and interacts with the network in thiscapacity. In response to this trigger, BSCP 106 may execute outgoing"screening" services. In addition, BSCP 106 may implement "callforwarding and routing" services by responding with the name and/oraddress of broadband client(s) to whom the session ought to beforwarded.

2. Session Change Requested. This trigger message notifies the BSCP 106that a broadband network client has requested modifications to anexisting broadband session (session which is already in progress). Therequested changes may include any of the following operations:

a. adding and/or removing network clients;

b. changing the session transport topology, e.g., adding/removingtransport connections between network clients which participate in thesession;

c. changing the session control policies. The session control policiesinclude session privacy policy (determines who can learn about theexistence of the session through the network directory service), changescontrol policy (identifies the group of network clients which havepermission to modify session characteristics), agreement policy(identifies the group of clients who will be involved in approval ofsession changes), state change notification policy (identifies the groupof clients who will be notified of any session state changes), billingpolicy (identifies a network user(s) who will be billed for the networkresources used by the session).

In response to a session change requested trigger, BSCP 106 may executesession modification screening services. For example, the BSCP 106 mayvalidate whether the broadband client requesting changes to the sessionis authorized by the changes control policy currently in effect for thesession. In addition, BSCP 106 may implement "call forwarding androuting" services by responding with the name and address of broadbandclients to whom the session ought to be forwarded.

3. Address Information Available. This trigger message reports thesession signaling address(es) of the proposed session participants. Inresponse to this trigger, BSCP 106 may look up the session agreementpolicy, which is currently in effect for the session, and determinewhich clients ought to be queried for acceptance of the proposed sessioncreation/change. The BSCP 106 would report to the session controller 104the list of clients to query for acceptance.

4. Client's Responses Received. This trigger reports to BSCP 106 theclient's responses to session creation/change acceptance queries. Inresponse to this trigger, BSCP 106 may look up the session agreementpolicy and, based on client's responses, determine whether the sessioncreation/modification ought to be authorized.

5. Session Action Committed. This trigger reports to BSCP 106 thatbroadband session controller 104 successfully performedcreation/modification of the session. In response to this query, BSCP106 may look up the state change notification policy and determine whichclients ought to be notified about the session change which took place.In addition, BSCP may look up the billing policy and determine whichclients ought to be billed for the session changes.

6. Session Terminated. This trigger notifies BSCP 106 that a session wasterminated. It also reports to BSCP 106 the network resource usageincurred by the session. Based on this trigger, BSCP 106 could implementvarious billing services.

As also described in the incorporated patents and patent applications,SPACE is a graphical programming language for generating call processingrecords ("CPRs") using a system of graphical nodes and branches. Thenodes and branches are put together by an operator or a user graphicallyon a computer screen and represent processing flow for handlingtelephone calls based on various call model triggers. Also, the MSAPprogram executes the CPRs to provide call processing information totelephone switches. In accordance with the present invention, the SPACEprogramming language is extended to provide for broadband processing.

As shown in FIG. 3A, in accordance with the present invention, BSCP 106includes a processor 300, a broadband application 302, and a database304 containing a plurality of user broadband processing records ("BPRs")306. Broadband application 302 preferably includes the broadbandextended SPACE programming and execution language.

Broadband database 304 includes one or more BPRs 306 for each user. Inresponse to triggers from the broadband session controller 104, BSCP 106refers to a BPR 306 for that user, executes that BPR to obtainprocessing information, and returns processing instructions to thebroadband session controller 104. The broadband session controller 104preferably responds to processing instructions from the BSCP 106 byinstructing either the settop controller 110, the broadband switches114, or the VIP 102. Details of these instructions are described below.

FIGS. 3B and 3C illustrate the processing flow of an exemplary BPR 306in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Initially,BPR 306 responds to a video-on-demand ("VOD") session creation trigger(node 310) and determines whether the user has activated screeningcapabilities (node 312). If the user is not screening his/her VODservice (false branch 314), BPR 306 instructs the settop controller 110to display a level one gateway ("L1GW") menu (node 316). The L1GW menuis described in more detail below. BPR 306 then identifies a L1GW menuselection made by a user (node 318). If the selection cancels thesession (branch 320), BPR 306 requests session manager 202 to cancel theestablishment of the VOD session (node 322). If the selection requestsVOD service setup (branch 324), BPR 306 invokes service provisioninglogic (node 326). The service provisioning logic allows a user to modifythe characteristics of the VOD service, e.g. turn on/off the VOD accessscreening. In response to any other selection (branch 328), BPR 306instructs BSC 104 to connect the user to the selected VIP 102 (node330).

If the user uses VOD screening (branch 332), BPR 306 invokes thescreening service processing (node 334). The screening serviceprocessing is shown, for example, in FIG. 3C. To provide VOD screening,the BPR requests the settop controller 110 to display a PIN promptscreen (node 340). The user then makes a selection (node 342). If theuser selects to cancel the session (branch 344), BPR 306 blocks thesession (node 346) and exits the routine (node 348). For any other userselection (branch 350), BPR 306 evaluates the PIN entered by a user(node 352). If the PIN entered by the user matches a predefined PIN(branch 354), the processing continues, as shown generally by node 356.If, instead, the user has not input a matching PIN (branch 358), BPR 306blocks the processing and exits the routine (nodes 360 and 362,respectively).

Referring again to FIG. 2, BSC 104 also includes a database 210 thatpreferably stores data or information to be sent to the settopcontroller 110. For some triggers, broadband session controller 104 neednot go to the BSCP 106 for information on how to respond. Instead,session manager 202 may provide responsive information from the database210. For example, when a settop controller 110 goes off hook, sessionmanager 202 may initially transfer interface graphics from database 210to the settop controller 110. Alternatively, even if the session manager202 does go to the broadband BSCP 106 for information on responding tothe trigger, BSCP 106 may instruct the session manager 202 to respondwith information from the database 210 in the broadband sessioncontroller 104.

As shown in FIG. 2, broadband session controller 104 includes a singlesession manager 202. However, in accordance with the invention,broadband session controller 104 may include more than one sessionmanager 202. Preferably, a session manager 202 is provided for eachbroadband application or service provided by the system shown in FIG.1A. For example, one session manager may manage VOD services, while asecond session manager, including a set of different triggers, managesvideoconferencing services. Videoconferencing services are described inmore detail below.

In accordance with the present invention, network connection manager 204also includes a set of triggers which make it query BSCP 106 forinstructions. Specifically, while allocating physical network resourcesto a session, network connection manager 204 may request BSCP 106 togrant permission to use a particular resource. For example, some networkresources, e.g. trunks, may be reserved for exclusive use by certainnetwork users, such as the U.S. government. Whenever the connectionmanager 204 attempts to allocate these reserved resources to aparticular session, a trigger condition will make the network connectionmanager 204 request BSCP 106 to authorize the resource allocation.

Session manager 202, network connection manager 204, resource adapters206, and signaling adapters 208 preferably comprise software ormicrocode, which is executed by processor 200, and any hardwarenecessary to effect the execution of that software or microcode inaccordance with conventional techniques. Processor 200 comprises anyconventional processor or computer capable of executing the software ormicrocode and performing the functions described in connection withthese components. In an alternative embodiment, however, thesecomponents of broadband session controller 104 can be implemented inelectronic logic circuitry.

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of a settop controller 110 inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. As shown,settop controller 110 preferably includes a processor 400 and controlapplications 402 for controlling signalling and broadband contentsinformation flow between the broadband session controller 104, the videodisplay 110, and the BSN 100. In addition, settop controller 110preferably includes memory 404 to store and buffer data and videoinformation.

Settop controller 110 also includes an IR decoder 406 for decoding inputsignals sent to the settop controller 110 by remote control 118. Networkaccess I/O 408 provides input/output control of information to and fromthe broadband switch network 100. Session controller I/O providescontrol of signaling information to and from the broadband sessioncontroller 104. Video I/O 412 provides control of video information toand from the video display 112. Finally, video camera I/O 414 providescontrol of video information from a video camera 120.

FIG. 5 illustrates a process flow diagram for the broadband network ofFIG. 1B for providing VOD services in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention.

Initially, in response to a user input signal from remote control 118,settop controller 110 transmits a service request instruction to the BSC104 (step 500). Session manager 202 of BSC 104 issues the servicerequest to the BSCP 106 (step 502). In response to the service request,BSCP 106 executes a BPR for the user (step 503). In the embodiment ofFIG. 5, the BPR for the user instructs the settop controller to displaya L1GW menu and sends the L1GW menu choices to the settop controller 110through the BSC 104.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a LlGW menu 600. The LlGW menu 600preferably includes selection buttons for various services provided bythe broadband network. The service buttons may include conventionalbroadcast TV 602, VOD 604, or videoconferencing 606. Videoconferencingis discussed in more detail below. In addition, the LIGW menu 600 mayinclude a text area 610 to provide information to the user as needed.

Referring again to FIG. 5, through a series of interactions between theuser and the settop box, the BSCP 106 provides service setup (step 506),as follows. The user selects the VOD button 604 from the LlGW menu 600and the BSCP 106 responds by requesting a user's personal identificationnumber ("PIN").

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary display menu for requesting the user'sPIN. As shown, the PIN display menu 700 includes a field displaying thetext "PLEASE ENTER YOUR PIN:" (field 702), as well as a "cancel" button(704) and "okay" button (706). The user enters a predefined PIN numberand selects the "okay" button 706. In response, BSCP 106 displays a VIPmenu display 800, as shown for example in FIG. 8. The video selectionpanel 800 includes selection buttons 800(a)-(d) corresponding to variousVIPs offering VOD services in the network. The VIP selection menu mayalso include a preview button 804 to provide preview information foreach VIP server, as well as a setup button 806 to establish a connectionwith the VIP server.

Referring again to FIG. 5, when the user selects a VIP button 802, theBSCP 106 sends a request session setup instruction to the BSC 104 (step508). Session manager 202 then sends a session connection request to theVIP 102 selected by the user (step 510). After receiving a sessionconnection accept or acknowledgment signal from the VIP (step 514), BSC104 sends setup instructions to the BSN 100 (step 512). BSN 100 sets upthe video and signaling connections between the settop controller 110and the VIP 102 (step 516). BSC 104 notifies VIP 102 and settopcontroller 110 that the connections were established (step 520). VIP 102then begins pumping proprietary interface menus, such as video selectionmenus, down a broadband connection 518 to the settop controller 110.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary video selection menu 900 provided by aVIP 102. The video selection menu 900 may include a selection of videocategory buttons 902A and 902B, as well as exit (904) and setup (906)buttons. Although FIG. 9 shows the video selections based on only twocriteria, entertainment (902a) and education (902b), the video selectioncan be provided based on many categories, such as any category found invideo rental stores.

In response to a user's selection of a category 902 and setup button906, the VIP 102 might respond by displaying a menu listing movies inthat particular category. FIG. 10 shows an exemplary menu 1000, whichincludes a listing of video titles 1002(a)-1002(d), as well as a "more"button 1004 and a "previous menu" button 1006. A user selects the movietitle and the VIP 102 begins sending the video signal to the settopcontroller 110 for display on the user's video display 112.

Returning again to FIG. 5, a VOD session may end in response to asession completion request from either the VIP 102 or the user throughthe settop controller 110 (step 522). In response to such a sessioncompletion request, the network connection manager 204, through the RAs206, instructs the broadband switching network 100 to take down thebroadband connection to the VIP (step 524). Once the connection isterminated, the session manager sends a session termination notificationsignal to both the VIP 102 and the settop controller 110 (step 526),thus ending the system operation.

In an alternative embodiment, a broadband network according to thepresent invention includes an intelligent peripheral ("IP") forproviding certain system functionality. As shown in FIG. 11, thisalternative network remains essentially the same as the network shown inFIGS. 1A and 1B, however, an IP 1100 is connected to BSCP 106, BSC 104,an information sender/receiver 101 (in the case of FIG. 11, settopcontroller 110), and one or more switches 114 of the BSN 100.

In the embodiment of FIG. 11, IP 1100 preferably replaces low leveloperations associated with the settop controller 110 in the previousembodiment. In this embodiment, BSCP 106 preferably sends signalinginformation to IP 1100 requesting IP 1100 to generate videorepresentation of the VOD menu screens and send it to the settopcontroller 110 via transport connections in broadband switch network 100and access network 108. Thus, in this embodiment, IP 1100 off-loads thesettop controller from generating video representations of the VOD menuscreens. IP 1100 preferably comprises a Bellcore Intelligent ServicesPeripheral modified to provide the disclosed broadband networkfunctionalities. Connections 120, 122, and 128 shown in FIG. 11 may belogical connections, with the physical connections passing insteadthrough switches 114.

FIG. 12 illustrates a system setup and processing operation forconnecting a user with the IP 1100 to provide VOD services. Initially,the user creates a session request through IR decoder 404, which is sentfrom the settop controller 110 to BSC 104 (step 1200). BSC 106 returnsan acknowledge signal (step 1202) and sends an information requestsignal to the BSCP 106 (step 1204). The BSCP 106 executes a BPR (step1206) and returns an information response to the session manager 202 ofthe broadband session controller 104 (step 1208). The response message(step 1208) directs broadband session controller to establish signalingand video connections between the IP and settop controller 110. Sessionmanager 202 then requests a signaling adapter module 208 to send asession connection request to the IP (step 1210). The IP 1100 respondsto this signal by sending a session action accepted signal to thebroadband session controller 104 (step 1212). In response to the sessionaction accepted signal, session manager 202 invokes network connectionmanager 204 (step 1214). Network connection manager 204, via resourceadapter 206, establishes the signaling data and video connectionsbetween settop controller 110 and IP 1100. In particular, resourceadapters 206 associated with access network 108 and broadband switches114 set up the signaling, video, and audio transport connections betweenIP 1100 and settop controller 110 (connection 1216). After the transportconnections are established, session manager 202 then sends sessionconnections mode notifications to both the settop controller 110 and theIP 1100 so that the IP 1100 and settop controller 110 know when to startusing the connection.

The IP 1100 can now communicate with the user directly to provideservice functionality as described above. For example, as shown in FIG.13, in this alternative embodiment, once the IP 1100 and the user'ssettop controller 110 are connected, the IP 1100 processing may takeover and request information from BSCP 106 to provide VOD services forthe user (step 1302). In response to this request, the BSCP 106 willagain execute a BPR (step 1304) and provide response information to theIP 1100 (step 1306). In this example, the information from the BSCP 106instructs the IP 1100 to display VOD menu information (step 1308) (i.e.upon receiving this information, the IP 1100 generates a videorepresentation of the menu and sends it to settop controller 110). Theuser's settop controller then returns selection information to IP 1100(step 1310). In response, the IP 1100 again sends an information requestto BSCP 106 (step 1312). BSCP 106 again executes a BPR responsive tothat information request (step 1314) and returns another response to IP1100 (step 1316). This communication between IP 1100 and BSCP 106 and IP1100 and settop controller 110 continues until BSCP 106 has allinformation necessary to connect the user's settop controller 110 to theVIP 102. At this point (step 1316), BSCP 106 instructs IP 1100 torequest a connection between the user's settop controller 110 and VIP102.

FIG. 14 shows the processing steps for connecting the user's settopcontroller 110 to the VIP 102 in this alternative embodiment. Initially,the IP 1100 requests the broadband session controller 104 to modify theexisting session between the settop controller 110 and IP 1100. Therequested session modification includes removal of signaling and videoconnections between settop controller 110 and IP 1100 and establishmentof signaling and video connections between settop controller 110 and VIP102. Specifically, IP 1100 sends a modify session request to BSC 104(step 1400), and the BSC 104 returns an acknowledgment signal to the IP1100 (step 1402). The BSC 104 then requests information from the BSCP106 (step 1404), which executes a BPR to determine how to handle therequest (step 1406) and returns responsive information to the BSC 104(step 1408). The session manager 202 of BSC 104 then negotiates with theuser's settop controller 110 and the VIP 102 by sending session actionrequests (steps 1410 and 1412, respectively), and receiving sessionaction accepted signals (steps 1414 and 1416, respectively). In responseto session action accepted signals from the settop controller 110 andthe VIP 102, session manager 202 invokes the network connection manager204 to set up the network connections (step 1418). The connectionmanager 204 calls the appropriate resource adapters 206 to connect thesettop controller 110 to the VIP 102 through the access network 108 andBSN 100 (signaling and video connections 1420). BSC 104 then sendssession action complete signals for final notification to VIP (step1422), settop controller (step 1424), and IP 1100 (step 1426).

The present invention also provides for broadband videoconferencing. Thegeneral operation of the network is similar to that for VOD services asdescribed above, except that for broadband videoconferencing, the videosource comes not from a VIP, but from the video camera 120 associatedwith a user's settop controller 110. Preferably, for videoconferencing,settop controller 110 controls cameras 120, microphones (not shown),video display 112, and speakers (not shown).

The videoconferencing service is preferably selected using thevideoconferencing button 606 off the LlGW menu 600, shown in FIG. 6. Inresponse to the selection of the videoconferencing service, the BSCP 106preferably transfers a videoconferencing menu to the caller's settopcontroller 102. A preferred videoconferencing menu 1500 is shown, forexample, in FIG. 15. The videoconferencing menu 1500 preferably includesa personal list of names of individuals or businesses 1502(a)-1502(d)that the caller includes within the caller's videoconferencing services.

Videoconferencing menu 1500 may also include "go back" 1504, "more,"1506, "find," 1508 and "hang up" 1510 buttons. "Go back" button 1504displays the main menu shown in FIG. 6. The "find" button 1508determines the address of any videoconferencing subscriber. In responseto the selection of the "find" button 1508, settop controller 110displays a screen prompting the caller for information about avideoconferencing subscriber whose address is needed. In response to theselection of the "more" button 1506, the settop controller 110 displaysanother portion of the caller's personal list of names of individuals orbusinesses 1502(a)-1502(d) that the caller often calls viavideoconferencing services. In response to the selection of "hang up"button 1504, the settop controller 110 requests termination of theexisting videoconferencing session between the settop controller 110 andvideoconferencing network client(s) utilized by other videoconferencinguser(s) engaged in the current videoconferencing session.

FIG. 16 shows the processing steps for providing a videoconferencingservice in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Asdiscussed, for videoconferencing, the setup steps 1600-1608 between acaller's settop controller and BSC 104 and the communication between BSC104 and BSCP 106 are the same as step 1200-1208 shown in FIG. 12 for VODservices, except that the user has selected the videoconferencingservice button 606 off the LlGW menu 600. In response to the informationrequest message (step 1604), BSCP 106 preferably executes broadbandprocessing record BPR (step 1606) which, like the exemplary BPR shown inFIGS. 3B-3C, may implement services offered to videoconferencing users,e.g. "call screening" services, "call forwarding and routing" services,etc. In this embodiment, in response to information from BSCP 106,session manager 202 of BSC 104, through a signaling adapter 208, sends asession action request signal to a settop controller 110 of a calledparty to inform the called party of the attempted videoconference (step1610). The called party's settop controller 110 responds through thesignaling adapter 208 to the session manager 202 by accepting orrejecting the request. In this example, the request is accepted (step1612). Session manager 202 then invokes connection manager 204 to set upa broadband connection between the calling party and the called party(step 1614).

Connection manager 204 then invokes the resource adapters 206 for thebroadband network 100 and the access network 108 to set up the transportconnections (step 1616). Once the network resources are allocated, thesession manager 202 sends a notification signal (steps 1618 and 1620) tothe settop controllers 110 of both the calling party and the calledparty. In this embodiment, both the video and voice information arepumped down the broadband connection.

Thus far, the description concentrates on the structure and servicesprovided by a broadband network. However, in accordance with the presentinvention, a broadband network can also be integrated with a telephonenetwork to provide additional services and features.

FIG. 17 shows a block diagram of an integrated broadband and telephonenetwork in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Asshown, broadband network 1700 and telephone network 1702 communicatewith an integrated broadband/telephone SCP ("BTSCP") 1704 viaconnections 124. Broadband network 1700 preferably includes the basiccomponents of the broadband network as described above, includingbroadband switches 114 and broadband session controller 104. Broadbandswitches 114 connect to a user's settop controller 110 to providebroadband information as described above.

Telephone network 1702 may include any conventional telephone networkincluding the PSTN, intelligent network ("IN"), or advanced intelligentnetwork ("AIN"). The AIN is described in more detail in the incorporatedpatent applications. FIG. 17 shows only the basic switches 1706 and aline information database ("LIDB") 1708 of the telephone network.

As described above, AIN switches 1706 rely on instructions from an SCPto provide call processing information. Thus, switches 1706 of telephonenetwork 1702 connect to the BTSCP 1704 via connections 124. Switches1706 also connect to end-user call processing equipment 1710, such astelephones, via conventional connections 1712. In addition, inaccordance with the present invention, switches 1706 could connectdirectly to a settop controller 110 at a user's remote location.Although FIG. 17 shows separate connections 1712 and 1714 from atelephone switch 1706 to a user's CPE 1710 and settop controller 110,only a single connection may be necessary. This embodiment is shown, forexample, in FIG. 18, where a single connection 1712 connects a telephonenetwork 1702 to a remote location. In this embodiment, a linesplitter/caller I.D. adapter 1800 splits the telephone connection 1712and feeds telephone extensions 1802 to CPE 1710 and settop controller110. The functionality of the caller I.D. adapter portion is disclosedin more detail below.

In accordance with the present invention, integrated BTSCP 1704 providesprocessing instructions to both the broadband network 1700 and telephonenetwork 1702 to integrate services across these networks in an efficientand effective manner. As shown in the embodiment of FIG. 19, tointegrate the two networks, the integrated BTSCP 1704 includes both abroadband SPACE application 302 and a telephone SPACE application 1900.Again, the basic telephone SPACE application 1900 is described in theincorporated patent applications. In an alternative embodiment, thebroadband SPACE application 302 and telephone SPACE application 1900exist as a single integrated application.

In one embodiment, BTSCP 1704 includes database 304 containing BPRs 306,and an additional database 1902 including telephone call processingrecords CPRs 1904. CPRs are also described in the incorporated patentapplications. In an alternative embodiment, both BPRs 306 and CPRs 1504are included in a single database. Processor 300 responds to triggersfrom either broadband network 1700 or telephone network 1702, executesthe corresponding SPACE application 302 or 1900, and accesses theappropriate database 304 or 1902 to provide processing instructions toeither network.

Although in one embodiment of the invention, the broadband and telephonefunctions are provided in an integrated SCP, in an alternativeembodiment, the functions are distributed across multiple SCPs.

By integrating the broadband and telephone networks, the presentinvention provides new network-based services for end-users. Forexample, in accordance with the present invention, an end-user can nowprovision video and telephone services via a display interface at theuser's remote location. The display interface in this embodimentpreferably comprises the video display 112 (or television) connected tosettop controller 110, as shown, for example, in FIG. 1B.

To provision video and/or telephone services via a display interface,the present invention provides a service provisioning menu similar tothe broadband menus described above. FIG. 20 illustrates the serviceprovisioning menu. Just as any other broadband menu described above, theservice provisioning menu of FIG. 20 can originate at several sources,including the integrated BTSCP 1704, intelligent peripheral 1100, BSC104, or settop controller 110.

As shown in FIG. 20, service provisioning menu 2000 preferably includesa video button 2002, a telephone button 2004, and a PREVIOUS button2006. Selection of the video button 2002 preferably displays a list ofvideo-based services that may be provisioned, while selection oftelephone button 2004 preferably displays a list of telephone servicesthat may be provisioned. PREVIOUS button 2006 permits a user to returnto previous menus.

One example of a broadband network-based service that may be provisionedby an end-user in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, is avideo-on-demand access screening service. For this service, a userselects VOD access screening from a list of video services (not shown)that would be displayed after selecting the video button 2002. Broadbandnetwork 1700 responds to this selection by displaying a menu like thatshown, for example, in FIG. 21. The menu includes a line which reads,"Turn on the VOD access screening:" 2100 and a "new PIN" field 2102. Toenable VOD access screening, the user selects the VOD access screeningline 2100 by selecting a box 2108 associated therewith and entering aPIN in the new PIN field 2102. CANCEL button 2104 allows a user tocancel any changes and return to a previous menu. OK button 2106 allowsa user to enable the service after completing the menu. As described forother broadband services above, information collected by the VOD accessscreening menu is transmitted back to the integrated BTSCP 1704 andadded to the user's BPR 306.

As discussed above, a user can also provision telephone services via avideo interface in accordance with the present invention. To providetelephone services, a user selects the telephone button 2004 in theservice provisioning menu 2000 of FIG. 20. FIG. 22 shows an exemplarylist of telephone-based services that would be displayed in response toselection of the telephone button 2004. For example, the telephoneservice provisioning menu of FIG. 22 may permit a user to turn on a callblocking feature (line 2200). Should the user select incoming callblocking 2200, the user can also exclude certain telephone numbers fromthe blocking service if desired (line 2202). The telephone serviceprocessing menu may also permit a user to turn on a caller I.D. displayfeature (line 2204) or to consider the call histories of recent incomingcalls (line 2206). The telephone menu of FIG. 22 also includes a cancelbutton 2208 and an OK button 2210.

FIG. 23 illustrates a call history service display for a user's display112 in response to selection of the call history button 2206 in FIG. 22.Field 2300 shows a list of a predetermined number of most recent calls,the date and time of the calls, and the status of the calls (deliveredor blocked). In addition, in accordance with the present invention, thecall history includes caller I.D. information, including the caller'stelephone number and the caller's name. This caller I.D. informationwill be described in more detail below. The call history menu alsoincludes a MORE button 2302 to move forward through the list, and aPREVIOUS button 2304 to display previous screens.

As mentioned above, the present invention provides for video-basedcaller I.D. delivery. FIG. 24 helps illustrate this service. FIG. 24shows a conventional television program, such as a weather report, beingdisplayed on a user's display 112. When a call is placed to that user'stelephone, in accordance with conventional techniques, the call ringsthe user's telephone. However, in accordance with the present invention,caller I.D. information is transmitted to the settop controller 110which displays the incoming caller I.D. information on a window 2402 ofthe display 112.

FIG. 25 shows an exemplary listing of the incoming call information thatmay be displayed in the display window of the user's display 112. Theincoming call information 2500 preferably lists the name of the caller(field 2502), the caller's telephone number (field 2504), the time ofthe call (field 2506), and date of the call (field 2508), and thedisposition of the call (field 2510). Call disposition field 2510informs the user if the call is being delivered or blocked, provided theuser subscribes to a call blocking feature. DONE button 2512 permits theuser to go back to a normal viewing screen. CALL HISTORY button 2514provides the same function as call history field 2206 in FIG. 22.

The processing operation of the integrated broadband and telephonenetwork for providing the incoming call information will now bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 26 and 27. In a first embodiment, thecaller I.D. adapter portion of the line splitter/caller I.D. adapter1800 (FIG. 18) (henceforth referred to only as "the caller I.D.adapter") provides the same functionality as today's conventional callerI.D. devices that are connected to user's telephone lines to identifyincoming callers. In this embodiment, the caller I.D. adapter 1800 ringsthe user's telephone 1710, and sends the caller I.D. information to theuser's settop controller 110, which incorporates the caller I.D.information into the appropriate fields (2502 and 2504) of the incomingcall information window 2500 (FIG. 25) for the user's display 112.

FIG. 26 shows the processing operation diagram to provide thevideo-based caller I.D. information in accordance with the firstembodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the processingof a telephone call through the telephone network is performed in amanner consistent with today's conventional caller I.D. service.

Initially, a calling party places a call to a user (called party), whichcauses the calling party's telephone to transmit a call setup request toa telephone switch (step 2600). The switch responds to the call bysending a calling name retrieval request to LIDB (step 2602). LIDBmatches the calling party's telephone number to the calling party's nameand returns the calling party's name to the switch (step 2604). Theswitch then transmits a call setup request (including calleridentification information) to the caller's telephone (step 2606).However, in the present invention, caller I.D. adapter 1800 receivesthis call setup request and sends the caller I.D. information containedin the call setup request to the settop controller 110 (step 2608). Thesettop controller then displays the caller information in a window (step2610), as shown in FIG. 24. At the same time, caller I.D. adapter 1800sends the call setup request information to the called party's telephone(step 2612) to ring the telephone (step 2614). The called party canreview the caller information being displayed and determine whether toanswer the phone. Although in this embodiment the caller I.D.information is sent to a settop controller 110 to be displayed ondisplay 112, in alternative embodiments, the line splitter/caller I.D.adapter 1800 may pass the caller I.D. information directly to CPE 1710for display or display the caller I.D. information directly.

As just described, to provide caller I.D. information according to theembodiment shown in FIG. 26, the invention does not require a broadbandnetwork to deliver the caller I.D. information. Rather, the callerinformation is provided to a remote location in accordance withconventional telephone network techniques. In an alternative embodiment,however, the caller I.D. information can also be delivered to the calledparty's display via a broadband network 1700.

Referring to FIG. 27, initially, a calling party dials a user's (calledparty's) telephone number. Again, the calling party's telephone sends acall setup request to the telephone switch (step 2700). In thisembodiment, the telephone switch preferably sends a trigger query toBTSCP 1704 (step 2702). The BTSCP then requests a calling name from LIDB(step 2704), which returns the calling party's name (step 2706). BTSCP1704 instructs the switch to confirm call setup to the telephone switch(step 2708), and forwards the caller information to the called party'ssettop controller 110 via the broadband network 1700 (step 2710), whichthe settop controller displays on display 112 (step 2702). The telephoneswitch sends the call setup request to the called party's telephone(step 2714) to ring the phone (step 2716). Accordingly, at approximatelythe same time, the called party's telephone rings, and the settopcontroller displays the call identification information on the user'svideo display 112. Alternatively, BTSCP could return to the switch thecalling party's name for delivering to traditional caller ID displaydevices.

While there has been illustrated and described what are at presentconsidered to be preferred embodiments and methods of the presentinvention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes and modifications may be made, and equivalents may besubstituted for elements thereof without departing from the true scopeof the invention. For example, in the preferred embodiments, BSCP 106provides processing instructions and/or data in response to servicesoriginated by BSC 104. In alternative embodiments, however, BSCP 106could communicate directly with an information sender/receiver 101 andprovide processing instructions and/or data in response to directqueries from an information sender/receiver 101 via BSC 104, BSN 100, orsome other communication facility.

In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particularelement, technique or implementation to the teachings of the presentinvention without departing from the central scope of the invention.Therefore, it is intended that this invention not be limited to theparticular embodiments and methods disclosed herein, but that theinvention include all embodiments falling within the scope of theappended claims.

We claim:
 1. A videoconferencing system comprising:a plurality ofvideoconferencing user stations, each user station including a videocamera, a microphone, a video display, and a speaker; a plurality ofvideoconferencing user station controllers, each of said controllers atone of said videoconferencing user stations controlling said videocamera, microphone, video display and speaker and including controlapplications for controlling signaling and broadband contentsinformation flow to and from said videoconferencing user station; and abroadband switching network, said network including:a broadband sessioncontroller for communicating with each of said videoconferencing userstations; and a broadband service control point connected to saidbroadband session controller, said control point including a databasehaving broadband processing records having information specific to saidvideoconferencing user stations and a processor for accessing saidprocessing records and for sending to said broadband session controllerprocessing information specific to a user station in response to atrigger; said broadband session controller including:means responsive toa videoconferencing request from a calling user station for requestingprocessing instructions from said broadband service control point; meansresponsive to said processing instructions for sending avideoconferencing service request to the videoconferencing user stationcontroller of a called user station; and means for establishing abroadband connection between said videoconferencing user stationcontrollers of said calling and said called user stations in response toan accept signal from said called user station videoconferencingcontroller.
 2. In a videoconferencing network including a plurality ofvideoconferencing user stations, a plurality of videoconferencing userstation controllers having control applications for controllingsignaling and broadband contents information flow to and from thevideoconferencing user station, and a broadband switching networkincluding a broadband session controller and a broadband service controlpoint having a database of broadband processing records havinginformation specific to each user station, a method for providingvideoconferencing comprising the steps of:requesting, at a callingparty's user station controller, a videoconference with a called party;requesting processing information from the broadband service controlpoint in response to said videoconference request; executing a broadbandprocessing record at the broadband service control point in response tosaid processing information request; sending a videoconference sessionrequest signal to a called party's user station controller in responseto the broadband processing record execution request; and establishing avideoconference connection between said calling party's user stationcontroller and said called party's user station controller in responseto an accept signal from said called party's user station controller.